In February 2022, ProPublica reporter Heather Vogell published an investigation into how giant private equity firms buy apartment buildings en masse and squeeze them for profit. One of the key players was Greystar, a private-equity-backed firm that, over the past decade, has snapped up rentals by the thousands and became the largest landlord in America. Greystar manages nearly 950,000 apartments nationwide.

Another investigation from Vogell showed how Greystar was using rent-setting algorithms from RealPage, a Texas-based software-maker. The RealPage software helped landlords decide rent prices in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior, such as price-fixing. 

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Greystar has agreed to stop using algorithmic rent-setting software. The deal still must be approved by a judge. The agreement is part of a proposed settlement with the Justice Department to resolve claims by federal authorities that the company had colluded with other landlords to raise rents in cities across the country.

Greystar did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement and said in a statement that it “firmly believes that its use of RealPage’s revenue management software complies with all applicable laws.” RealPage declined to comment. 

In January, a RealPage executive called the federal case “flawed” and said the company had already changed its software to remove nonpublic data even though it believed the technology was legal and “pro-competitive.”